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You Can’t Buy Wine Grapes at the Supermarket
December 26, 2010 by David
Filed under Wine Words
Well, I’ve seen them at Whole Foods, here in Napa, but I expect it’s quite unusual. Wine grapes and the grapes we eat aren’t the same species. You can find wine made of native American, Concord grapes, but it has a tiny market niche. The vast majority of us seem to prefer wine that’s made from the old-fashioned European varieties that have been around for centuries!
And, that also explains why the wines are so hard to pronounce! We name our wines for the grapes, most of the time, which means you end up speaking French, Italian, Spanish and German when it’s time to order!
The wine species is called Vitis vinifera and is thought to be native to the area south of the Black Sea, in what is now Georgia and Armenia. Eventually, it traveled west where the varieties mutated and new varieties were created by spontaneous crossing and intentional hybridization. More on wine grapes
Muscat Canelli
This grape is a mysterious seductress! A dyed in the wool Cabernet drinker will melt at the first whiff of heady, floral Muscat Canelli.
Mysterious? It appears to be living under a number of assumed names. There are numerous grapes called Muscat, many of them redundant. Let’s talk about what it is before we address what it isn’t. In America, it’s usually called Muscat Blanc or Muscat Canelli. In France, it goes by Muscat a Petits Grains or Muscat de Frontignan. The Italians call it Moscato, whether Moscato Bianco, Moscato d’Asti, Moscato di Canelli or some other regional moniker.
A Grape with a Past
It’s the oldest cultivated grape in France, most likely brought to Frontignan, by the Romans. The official French name, Muscat a Petits Grains, is a mouthful but it’s also descriptive of the attribute that makes it the most distinctive of the Muscat family: it translate as “muscat with small berries”. Small berries are often more flavorful berries and the flavor intensity is what sets it apart from the garden variety Muscat Alexandria, Muscat Ottonel or Muscat Hamburg.
Its ancient origins make it particularly subject to mutation, which adds to the mystery. While it’s most often white, as various names imply, mutations may be pink, red or brown! And white Muscat, harvested in a very mature state may appear nicely bronzed!
Remarkable Perfume
Muscat Canelli is a survivor, no doubt, because few can resist its incredible perfume. The French have a term, musqué, to describe clones of other varieties with notable floral, muscat-like perfume. Expect stone fruit, lychee, orange blossom and a bit of spice.
Because of these characteristics, it lends itself to particularly well to sweet wines. If you’re a fan of the rich Muscat de Beaume de Venise of southern France or the delightful Moscato d’Asti of Northern Italy, you’ve been drinking Muscat Canelli! It also makes lovely, refreshing sparkling wine and is the grape of Asti Spumante. In fact, Muscat Canelli is the fourth most planted variety in Italy!
It’s early to bud in the spring and to harvest in the fall, so it’s no surprise that it does well in moderately warm, Mediterranean climates. Canelli is not particularly vigorous and is quite susceptible to poor fruit set and bunch rot. This makes is a great candidate for most parts of warm, dry California. It’s also grown in Australia and South Africa.
Dessert in a Glass!
Many a Muscat Canelli wine, including Goosecross Muscat Canelli, is so sweetly delicious it can be served in place of dessert. Light, low alcohol styles are delicious with fresh fruit, especially strawberries, peaches and apricots, and with fruit-based desserts: pies, tarts, strawberry cheesecake. Fortified Muscat, such as Beaume de Venise, is wonderful with richer desserts such as crème brûlée, grilled peaches with zabaglione, chocolate covered fruit, blue cheese and most any kind of nuts! Are you getting hungry? Cheers!
Common synonyms: Muscat Blanc; Muscat a petits grains; Moscato d’Asti; Muscat de Frontignan
More recipes, paired with wine
Flavor profile: orange blossom, lychee fruit, apricot, peach, grapey, spice
Weight: Table and sparkling wine: light Fortified: full bodied
Q: Where Did California Wine Grapes Come From?
Question from Quincy: We are having a debate about the origin of California wine. We hope you can solve it. Where do California wines originate from? Are there any grapes native to California? I was told that California grapes repopulated the French wine country when the grapes were wiped out about 30 years ago. Did the grapes originally come from France, or were there native grapes that made California notable?
Reply: Thanks for writing! You’ve asked a complicated question, so I suggest that you get yourself a glass of wine and get comfy before you read this!
The species of grapes that are used to make wine in virtually every wine-producing country are of European, or actually Eurasian, origin, called vitis vinifera. Vitis vinifera is thought to be native to the area south of the Black Sea, in what is now Georgia and Armenia, and eventually traveled west. Of course Europe takes the credit for making these varieties famous. The first wine grapes in California came from Spain, via Mexico, and we have the Spanish missionaries to thank for establishing our industry first in southern California, and then bringing it north.
Wild, native California grapes are considered unsuitable for wine, but not other native American varieties. Wine is made of native American varieties such as Concord or Muscadine, but it claims a very small part of the market. American and European grape varieties are of the same genus, but not the same species, so they’re different in appearance, growing habits and, most importantly, flavor. Most of us find the flavors of the American varieties too strong. We seem to prefer the European varieties that have made wine for centuries.
The confusion with American varieties in Europe was created in the 19th century. As European varieties made their way here, American cuttings were also taken to Europe. Some of the American cuttings were infested with a small, aphid-like root pest called phylloxera, to which they are resistant. The French vineyards had never been exposed to phylloxera before and were devastated by it (this was in the 1860s). It took them a long time to identify the problem and then figure out what to do about it. They tried flooding the vineyards; they tried the chemicals that were available at the time. Finally, it was suggested that the non-resistant French variety be grafted on to resistant American stock and it worked! Ever since then the European varieties have been grafted.
Phylloxera proved to be a jet-setter, attacking most of the rest of Europe and other wine-producing regions around the globe including California and so the vast majority of us have to graft. There are some parts of South America and Australia that appear to be phylloxera-free, but most growers consider it prudent to graft European varieties onto American rootstock. These days, we select the hybrid not only for its phylloxera resistance, but also for other attributes such as drought resistance, low vigor, high vigor, etc.
In the late 1980s there was a recurrence of phylloxera here in California. Some blame a rootstock hybrid called AxR1, a French/American hybrid (the French parent being the weak link). Many believe that phylloxera mutated in such a way that rootstock that was resistant isn’t any longer and a “biotype B” phylloxera was identified (there are many biotypes of phylloxera). According to Jancis Robinson, “the AxR1 rootstock was found not to be affected by phylloxera found in New Zealand, but it was affected by German phylloxera.” In any case, here in California, if the vineyard was on AxR1 it was a question of when, not if, it would succumb and a great deal of replanting was necessary.
Now, just to cover all the bases (I hope!), there’s one grape, Zinfandel, that’s often called the “California grape.” That’s because we couldn’t locate its European parent or find the wine produced in Europe. In recent years a great deal of research was done on the subject and DNA fingerprinting has traced Zinfandel and its Italian twin, Primitivo, back to Croatia. Zinfandel doesn’t have the appearance or growing habits of a native American variety, so it wasn’t surprising to find that it came from Europe. But, we still think of it as very much a California wine!
I’m afraid this may have been a 2-glass reply, but I hope it was helpful to you.
Cheers! Nancy
